Trenton High
by xoc13
Summary: What would have happened if Stephanie and Ranger met before Morelli had a chance to seduce her at Tasty Pastry? AU.
1. Chapter 1

**So, I recently found a series (Roswell) on Netflix based on some books I read a loooonnnggg time ago and all that teenage drama got me thinking: What would have happened if Stephanie and Ranger met _before_ Morelli had a chance to seduce her behind the éclair case? **

**If the teen version of our fave characters doesn't appeal to you, that's okay. I'm working on _finishing _up Brighter Than The Sun and updates for Mañoso and Torn;)**

**Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE.**

_Joe's_ POV

"Dude!"

My brother Tony's whine made me tear my eyes away from my target. "What?" I snapped at him, annoyed with his interruption. I quickly snapped my gaze ahead of me once again, but she was no longer in sight.

"Forget it." Tony said with a shake of his head.

"What?" I growled this time, wishing he would just shut up or go away.

"That's Stephanie Plum." He said by way of explanation. "Forget it. She's not going to put out."

"I didn't say anything." I hid my grin, because if he saw it he would never let me live it down. To be honest, Stephanie is really cute. Her usual outfit consists of a stretchy girly tee, jeans and Chucks. Her brown curly hair is usually in a ponytail when she's working at the Tasty Pastry, but at school she usually lets the curls frame her face. And her eyes? I bet they turn a deep blue when she's turned on. That got another smile out of me, but despite my best efforts to hide it my brother definitely didn't miss it.

"It's not gonna happen." Tony teased and when I lunged for him, he scattered away.

My eyes scanned the tables around me one more time until I found her sitting on a corner to my right. "We'll see about that." Tossing my trash, I stood and stalked towards one Stephanie Plum.

S&amp;R- _Stephanie's_ POV

"Hey." A sweet male voice greeted. When I looked up I found Joe Morelli grinning at me. For a moment I thought he was headed my way, but at the last moment he passed my table and sat with a group of guys two tables over.

"Oh. My. God." My best friend shrieked in my ear.

"Mary Lou!" I protested, scooting an inch or two away from her. "What was that for?"

"Joe Morelli just '_hey_'ed you." She said, deep scowl in place. "You have to be careful. He's a virgin vampire."

I blushed, immediately focusing on the half eaten sandwich in front of me so I wouldn't have to look at her. "I don't know what you're talking about." I fibbed, stuffing a piece of bread in my mouth to keep me busy. "Besides, I'm not even his type." I shrugged.

"Every member of the female species is his type." Mary Lou was obviously not going to drop this. "Besides, he and Terry Gilman have this weird on again off again thing going on." Unsaid went the fact that Terry's family is very old school mafia.

Thankfully for me the bell rang and I was only too eager to get my butt to class.

"This isn't over." Mary Lou made me promise I'd call her as soon I got home after my shift at Tasty Pastry.

"Fine." I gave my best friend a brief hug before I hurried off to Spanish Class.

My school days are pretty standard. I wake up, go to my classes, have lunch with Mary Lou, work at Tasty Pastry after school, go home, eat dinner, pretend to work on homework, occasionally sneak out through the bathroom window and eventually go to sleep. And the cycle repeats itself over and over. I took my assigned seat in the third row, towards the back just as the late bell rang.

"Check out the new guy." Lula, a good friend of mine, cocked her head to the front of the classroom.

"Oh." A tall Latino was talking to Mr. Castillo. The new guy, as Lula put it, was not only tall, but even through his T-shirt his muscles were outlined. His dark hair was cut short and my hands suddenly itched to touch it or any part of him I could get my hands on.

"Okay, settled down." Mr. Castillo hushed the loud group before introducing the new guy. "Class, this is Ricardo Mañoso…"

"I prefer Carlos." The new guy added before Mr. Castillo had a chance to finish.

Mr. Castillo nodded in acknowledgement before he instructed Carlos to take the empty seat in front of me.

I can't be sure what class was all about, because I spent it staring at the back of Carlos's head and intoxicated with the citrusy scent that wafted my way.

S&amp;R-_ Ranger's_ POV

"How was your first day?" My mother asked once we got home. My sisters were quick to reply, easily chatting her up. "What about you, m'ijo?"

"Okay, I guess." I shrugged. My mother just smiled, already knowing I'm short on words.

Moving from Miami to Trenton was a big change and perhaps what I'm going to miss the most is going to be the tropical climate. Before I had too much time to start feeling nostalgic, my mother assigned us our daily chores. Great.

After dinner my father was craving something sweet and his confession roused up the others. "I saw a bakery not too far from here." My mother stated. "Celia, is it one or two blocks away?"

"I think it's more like three." My sister said before she disappeared into the kitchen to work on the dirty dishes.

"I'll go." I volunteered, mostly so I could have a chance to explore the neighborhood.

"Here." My father handed me a twenty and I was gladly on my way.

It didn't take me long to walk to Tasty Pastry and even before I was inside the bakery I realized that it was highly unlikely that I would find the type of sweet bread my family was craving. As soon as I went inside I spotted a guy, who looked like he was in desperate need of a haircut, trying way too hard to charm the girl behind the counter. There was no doubt in my mind that the schmuck wanted to get into her pants. Or get her out of them in any case.

"We're closed." She said to the guy before turning to me to tell me the same thing.

She seemed familiar and it only took me a moment to realize we had a class together. I scanned my eyes over her uniform, looking for a name tag. "Stephanie, give me a box of whatever you have left."

She blinked big blue eyes at me as recognition dawned on her. Swallowing hard, she nodded as she reached for a pink cardboard box. I kept my gaze focused on the glass counter in front of me, pretending like I was busy perusing its contents. From the corner of my eye I caught the frustrated look the guy shot my way before he exited the shop.

"You're new here." Stephanie was obviously as much of a Chatty Cathy as my sisters were. "Carlos, right?"

I nodded as I took the box from her and handed her the twenty.

"Here you go." I pocketed the change she gave me and headed for the door. "Have a good one." Stephanie said as she opened the door for me.

"…" Once I was outside I turned around with the intention of saying something nice back, but she shut the door on my face. After locking the door, she moved away and started turning off lights. Damn. I was such an ass.


	2. Not Just One

**Thanks for the amazing support on this one. Here's the continuation.**

**Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. **

I stormed into the house, ignoring my drunk father sitting on the couch in front of the TV and took the stairs two at a time. Frustrated was an understatement. I had her. So close. It had been so close that I could practically taste it. Taste _her_.

And then that idiot had to show up and ruin it.

"Fuck!" I growled as I vented out some of my frustration by kicking something soft that was lying on the floor next to my bed.

"Someone's got his panties in a bunch." I heard my brother say off to my right.

I flicked the light switch on and shot him a death glare. "Why do you love to sit in the dark?" I shook my head at him. "It's creepy."

"Well, that was quick." He said, ignoring my comment. I thought I detected a hint of disappointment and maybe sadness in his tone.

I shook my head at him again. "Nothing happened." I confessed.

Something I couldn't quite put my finger on lit his gaze. A spark of hope maybe. "Someone finally said no to the Prince." He flashed me a happy grin. "Good."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I growled at Tony. I was really not in the mood for his stupid shit.

"You always get what you want." He shrugged, taking his eyes off of me for a moment before returning his gaze to meet mine. "It's getting hard to keep track of those you haven't boinked."

"Tony." I warned, using my best 'don't mess with me' tone.

"Oh, what?" He defied, standing up. It was then that I realized he was now taller than me. My little bro wasn't so little anymore. "Are you going to hit me too?"

The anger that had been brewing barely under the surface deflated instantly and I burst out in laughter. "You like her, don't you?"

He just stared at me.

"You do!" Wow. How could I have missed that?

Tony shook his head. "I only thought she was kinda funny." He shrugged. "But _now_, I've got a whole new level of respect for her."

The anger flared up inside of me once again. It seemed everyone and their mother was going to get in the way.

"Leave her alone." I don't know where he got it from, but he was suddenly defending someone and holding his ground.

I flashed him a smile, before I spun on my heel and stormed out of the bedroom.

Stephanie is going to be mine, because once I set my mind to it there's no going back.

S&amp;R- _Stephanie's_ POV

"Stephanie!" The loud call was accompanied by a hand landing on my left shoulder to shake me awake.

"Five more minutes." I grumbled, turning my head to the opposite side and burrowing under the covers.

"Your sister is already dressed and is in the middle of eating breakfast." My mother informed me in that nagging little tone she reserves _just_ for me.

Valerie is my older sister and she's the perfect one. She gets good grades, never gets in trouble and is an all-around saint. I, on the other hand, am the trouble child of the two. I always get in trouble for not being more like my sister. I barely pass some of my classes, like Spanish for example. I'm not a bad person. It's just that I don't exactly fit my mother's expectations.

My mother blew out a sigh as she exited my room and I dragged myself out of bed before she returned a second time.

I took a speedy shower, dried my hair and trotted downstairs to grab breakfast on the go. My father and my sister were already waiting for me in the car when I exited the house.

As soon as my father dropped us off, we headed our separate ways.

My morning classes were uneventful, with me just going through the motions. But when the bell rang for lunch Mary Lou materialized herself out of thin air in front of me.

"You have to tell me everything." She said as we took our food to our usual table in the quad.

"There's not much to tell." I shrugged, reminding her that I told her everything there was to tell last night when I got home from work. In fact, we stayed up so late talking on the phone that I didn't want to get up this morning for school. "It was slow at the bakery, so I hurried to have everything ready." I just wanted to do my cut after closing and go home. "Just as I finished sweeping and moping the back, the door opened." I remember looking at the time and being glad that there were ten minutes left before my shift would be over. "It was Joe Morelli."

Mary Lou gasped, as if she'd heard this for the first time. "I told you he's a vampire."

I snorted and took a bite of an apple. "Look, yeah he was flirty." Morelli had been more than flirty. The way he spoke and carried himself left nothing to the imagination. And had it not been for the interruption, I might have fallen prey to him.

"What else happened?" Mary Lou wanted to know everything.

"Nothing." I told her that the new guy showed up to buy pastries.

"The Cuban guy?" Mary Lou fanned herself. "I have him for PE." She winked at me to let me know the guy was hot.

"Mary Lou!"

"Hey, a girl's got eyes." It was her turn to shrug. "Anyway, you have to be careful." She said rumor had it that Morelli's operation consisted of getting poor innocent girls alone and taking advantage of his good looks. "I mean, he usually succeeds in his first try." Mary Lou pointed out that Morelli would keep trying. "I don't think he's going to give up too easily."

I remained silent, munching on my apple for lack of something better to do.

"Hey, Stephanie." Tony Morelli passed by our table and gave me a friendly smile. Something about the spark in his gaze told me he was being sincere.

"Hi, Tony." I returned the greeting, watching him walk away.

"What the heck?!" My best friend stared at his retreating back for a moment. "Not one, but _two_ Morellis have their eyes on you." Again, she warned me to be careful.

S&amp;R-_ Ranger's_ POV

I have to admit that I'm the last person to complain about being put in a Spanish for non-native speakers class. Sure, it's going to be a bit boring at times considering I speak fluent Spanish and yeah, I could be using my time for wisely. But aside from being an easy A, it's also the only class I have with Stephanie. I really think that I need to set things straight with her and show her that I'm not a total asshole. After all, she hasn't done anything to me.

I took my seat in front of her just as the late bell rang.

"Okay." Mr. Castillo clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "I assigned a reading yesterday." He scanned his eyes around the room, silently assessing how many had actually done the reading. "We all read, yes?" There was a collective murmur in the room and a loud 'shit' from none other than Stephanie. "Ms. Plum." Mr. Castillo shot her a warning glare and she mumbled a quick apology. "So, since we all read that means you'll all do great on my pop quiz." This time there was a groan of protests from many around the room.

When I passed the quiz back to Stephanie, our fingers brushed for the tiniest bit and a surge of something coursed through my body. I took a deep breath, trying to shake myself out of the good feeling that touch brought and focused myself on the questions in front of me.

About ten minutes later Mr. Castillo called time. "All right, pass 'em up." As soon as he had all the quizzes in his possession, he moved towards the door. His hand gripped the stack of papers, hovering over the trash can. "Should I really grade these?"

"No." More than one replied instantly.

He tossed the papers in the trash. "Let that be a warning." He said next time he suspected people weren't doing the readings, he would start issuing out extra quizzes. "Let's move on." He said after a moment. "I want to talk about your next assignment." Mr. Castillo went on to explain what he wanted from us. "In groups of two, you will come up with a dialogue, memorize it and recite it in front of the class." Papers with the assignment's criteria were passed around. "I've already randomly assigned your groups." When he said that Mañoso and Plum were paired together, I couldn't help but shoot her a grin over my shoulder.

"I hope you're better at this than me." She told me when Mr. Castillo gave us class time to work on our assignment.

"Don't worry." I assured her I knew what to do.

"You seem confident." The way her brow furrowed in thought only added to the cuteness factor.

"I, uh…" I leaned closer to her, whispering conspiratorially. "I speak fluent Spanish."

"Then what the hell are you doing in this class?" She must have thought about it, because she quickly amended her statement. "You know what? I don't care. I'm just glad you're my partner."

_Me too. _

I just flashed her a smile before we got to work.


	3. Not So Bad

**Hey, thanks for the awesome support. I know it's been a while since I've added to this one, but so much has happened. Final exams came and went and now my left pinkie is so crooked it hurts. I was told it was trigger finger, but I'm waiting to see the specialist later this week to see what's really going on there. Add the fact that we're in the middle of moving and it just makes for a crazy last few months. **

**Anyway, I recently finished reading Takedown Twenty and that part where Helen tells Stephanie that living with Grandma was like living with her (Stephanie) all over again was priceless! That little glimpse back in time to Steph's teenage years fueled the continuation of this story.**

**Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. **

"Carlos!" I waved him over as soon as I caught sight of him down the hall. Since I'm on the verge of failing the class, I've gotta take advantage of his expertise in Spanish. And since we're partnered up for this assignment, I'll start there.

"Stephanie." He waved back, moving through the crowd to reach the door. It was then that I noticed that a tall, beautiful girl was latched onto his arm.

"Hi." She flashed me a genuine grin as she looked me over.

"Hey." I said, feeling something I couldn't quite pinpoint jab my lower belly. _Of course he has a girlfriend._ A little voice in my head was quick to point out that Carlos is _really_ good looking.

"I'm Celia." She offered her hand and I reluctantly shook it. "I'll tell Mama." She said to Carlos before waving goodbye at us and turning around, effectively disappearing in the crowd.

"Sister?" I asked as soon as the 'Mom' comment sunk in.

Carlos nodded. "Yeah, I asked her to let Mom know I'll be at your house."

I nodded as we started walking down the sidewalk, moving away from the high school. We walked in comfortable silence. While it looked like he was lost in thought, I enjoyed the familiar sights. Living in the Burg has its pros and cons. People have adopted a routine of sorts, so I usually see the same people doing the same things on my walk home or to Tasty Pastry after school. Yeah, life is very predictable in this neighborhood. I haven't decided if the predictability is a good thing or a bad thing. I'm sort of torn on that one.

"It's this one." I finally broke the silence long moments later as I led the way towards the front door.

A figure appeared behind the screen door and it took me about a second to figure out who it was. "Stephanie!" A cheerful voice greeted a fraction of a moment before the door opened.

"Grandma Mazur!" It's always great to see her. She's great and she loves me to death. Grandma hasn't visited in a long time. There's been talk about her moving in with us ever since Grandpa Mazur took his clogged arteries to the heavens. I just didn't know when it was going to happen, but I certainly enjoy the surprise.

"Hhmmm, you should do my hair like that." Grandma twirled one of my curles, making me smile. It seems she hasn't changed one bit.

"Sure." I agreed.

"And who's this?" She focused her attention on Carlos, taking a moment to look him over.

"I'm Carlos." He said, shifting slightly at the way Grandma Mazur was staring at him.

"I like you." She said simply, patting his cheek.

"We've got homework to do." I said, trying to move past my grandma.

"What's going on?" My mother asked as she joined the party.

"Stephanie and Carlos have homework to do." Grandma announced helpfully.

"What?" My mother turned wide eyes at me before turning to Carlos. "Homework? On a Friday?" She half whispered, half shrieked.

I work every other Friday at Tasty Pastry. Those Fridays when I'm off I usually spend the afternoon either plotting my escape when I'm grounded or getting ready for an outing when I'm not. Either way, Fridays are my party days. "Yes." I replied a bit impatiently.

"Uhm…" My mother stared at me open mouthed before focusing on Carlos again. She was silent for so long that I couldn't read her. I mean, it's not like my mother's racist. Well, we certainly haven't been raised that way.

It felt like an eternity and despite the fact that we were all waiting for her to speak, my mother still shocked us when she finally broke the silence. "Come on in!" She looped her arms around his left bicep, ushering Carlos inside.

Grandma and I trailed behind as my mother led the way to the kitchen. "Sit." She instructed before asking Carlos if he needed anything.

"Seriously?" I was baffled as I sat across from Carlos. "Who are you and what have you done with my mother?" My mother ignored me, the only sign of acknowledgement came in the form of a glare she shot my way.

"Anything to drink at least?"

"Water." He flashed my mom a half grin that made something in my chest flutter.

"Of course." Mom bustled around the kitchen, asking Carlos if he needed anything else. "I have lunch meat."

"I'm fine, thank you." He took the glass of water, shaking his head.

"I could use a sandwich." As soon as the words left my mouth, my mother returned her full attention to me.

"You've got work to do." She gave me a pointed look, but before she could say anything else Grandma Mazur dragged her out of the kitchen. I didn't miss the wink Grandma shot my way.

I chose to ignore that wink. "Okay." I said on a sigh. During class we settled vaguely on the topic for our dialogue, but it was about as far as we got.

"Uhm…" Carlos grabbed his notebook from his backpack along with the instructions. "We have to incorporate at least three of the vocab words."

"Alrighty, let's see." I grabbed my copy of the vocabulary words and gave it the once over. Quickly deciding on the shortest three, I glanced up at him. "Let's use these three."

"Let's get started then." There it was again, that tiny flutter in my chest that seemed to flare up whenever he smiled.

S&amp;R

"See, that wasn't so hard."

"Ugh, no." I thought this assignment was going to be simplified tenfold thanks to his expertise, but the jerk actually made me work for it. Okay, I admit I thought he was an ass when he was so curt at Tasty Pastry last night. I guess he's not that much of an ass, but I still don't like the fact that I had to work so hard on this assignment.

"Dinner's ready." My mother announced after my sister and Grandma took the last dishes to the dining table.

"I should get going." Carlos stood from the table and gathered his stuff.

"No, stay." My mother draped an arm across his shoulders to keep him in place.

"Uh…" Carlos shot me a look, but I shrugged. It was totally up to him. "I should call home and…"

"Sure, sure." Mom walked him to the living room so he could use the phone and have some privacy.

After washing my hands I joined the others in the dining room. My dad was already seated at the head of the table, looking ready to eat. My sister and Grandma had also already taken their spots, sitting across from each other. So, I sat next to Grandma Mazur.

"Who's your friend?" Valerie asked, showing way too much interest in my 'friend'.

"He's quite handsome." Grandma Mazur added.

"Oh, yeah." My sister nodded and I couldn't help but frown at the dreamy look that graced her facial features. I couldn't place a finger on it, but for some reason her look pissed me off.

**So, it seems like Steph is changing her mind about Carlos some. And Helen totally loves himXD Next chapter will be in his POV starting off with dinner at the Plum's;) And don't worry, we'll get to know what Morelli's been up to as well. **


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